Volunteer South West program CONNECT to ease people into volunteering

A new volunteering initiative has made getting out into your community a whole lot easier. Volunteer South West will introduce its new CONNECT program later this year, following a trial program at Foodbank Bunbury last week. Aimed at assisting new volunteers in breaking into the field, the program will run over four weeks teaching participants how to build their confidence in a “practice” volunteer role and learn new skills. As part of the recent trial, VSW teamed with Foodbank and students from Bunbury Regional Community College to try the program and offer feedback on how it can improve before it opens to the public. Year 11 student Asha Schipp took part in the program, saying it was an informative experience. “We’ve just been helping to make up packages with food and produce so we can hand it out in the community to help those in need and also learn a bit about volunteering,” she said. “It feels really nice and helpful (to volunteer) . . . I enjoy being able give back to the community. “I would encourage everyone to get involved in and help out where they can especially because every little bit helps especially when it’s going towards anyone who has struggled or needs a little bit of extra help.” VSW commenced it’s ENGAGE initiative last year, helping new migrants immerse themselves into the community. VSW program co-ordinator Susanne Becker-Hamersley said she hopes the program helps eliminate any “fears” people may have about volunteering. “Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming to just go somewhere where you don’t know anyone so we thought it would help going there in the group, with a friend of whomever,” she said. “We will support the volunteers in training and helping them out to fill out the paperwork which might be difficult for people who haven’t done it before or whose first language is not English. “Through the program, we accompany the volunteers through the process until they feel comfortable to do whatever they choose to do.” Eager to get involved, Foodbank Bunbury manager Leonie Jane said the organisation always welcomes new volunteers. “Foodbank operates on volunteers, without them we just couldn’t do it,” she said. “I’ve got 55 current volunteers on the books who contribute over 2000 hours every month, and that’s basically what it takes to keep everything running . . . without volunteers, we’re nothing.” To find out more about the CONNECT program, contact programs@volunteersouthwest.org.au.